Private Project

Cajita

Inspired by a true story this intimate tale follows Cajita an immigrant laborer with a murky past who fled his country by shipping himself in a crate to the US. Cajita now lives off the grid performing odd jobs for an upper-class family. After an unforeseen event forces Cajita into a chancy situation, his best friend lays out a risky plan to help free Cajita from his dangerous dilemma.

  • luis gispert
    Director
  • Rick Negron
    Writer
  • Producer
  • Ryan Murphy
    Producer
  • Luis Gispert
    Producer
  • Michelle Fragoso
    Key Cast
    "Tomas"
  • Vladimir Escudero
    Key Cast
    "Amparito"
  • Susana Perez
    Key Cast
    "Enriquetta"
  • Project Title (Original Language):
    Cajita
  • Project Type:
    Feature
  • Runtime:
    1 hour 23 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    March 1, 2024
  • Production Budget:
    150,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    Spanish
  • Shooting Format:
    Red
  • Aspect Ratio:
    4:3
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
  • New York Latino Film Festival
    New York
    United States
    September 17, 2024
    New York
    Best Narrative Feature
Director Biography - luis gispert

Luis Gispert is an internationally recognized American visual artist living and working between Miami Florida and Brooklyn New York. His multidisciplinary practice extends beyond sculpture to include photography, painting and film. His work has been showcased at several renowned and influential institutions all over the world that include, the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Royal Academy in London, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum New York, Shanghai Museum of Contemporary, MOCA North Miami,  Palazzo Brocherasio in Turin, and the Haifa Museum in Israel. Born in New Jersey to Cuban immigrant parents he was raised between New York City and Miami. Coming of age in Miami’s visually rich cross-section of cultures inspired him to become a visual artist. He attended Miami Dade College and earned an MFA in sculpture from Yale university. His artwork deals with themes of race, class, cultural identity and the immigrant experience of loss and hope. Always looking for new ways of visual expression he has moved into filmmaking. Cajita marks his directorial debut based on a true story he experienced growing up in Miami.

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Director Statement

I create art through a wide range of mediums including photography, painting and sculpture, exploring ideas of cultural identity, acceptance, and inclusion. I work with stories and themes that are underrecognized by mainstream culture, shining a light upon them, finding ways to magnify, reanimate, and transform them into emblems of power and agency. My art attempts earnestly to motivate introspection in the viewer.
In my first feature film Cajita I bring a story of the often overlooked Afro-Latino community of Miami Florida from the edges to the center, so that we are able to see them in their fullness.
As a visual artist making a narrative film my aim is to find poetry in the translation of real life into images and words. Being realistic is secondary, being truthful and representing the characters with dignity is what matters. Like my artwork in galleries and museums, this film invites the audience to be part of the creative process. It is a collage where the viewer completes the meaning of the film with their past experiences. Ideally, I aim to tell stories in a way that communicates with the viewer’s unconscious as they process their own memories, dreams, and fantasies.
What is most valuable to me is that the audience exercises their imagination. I offer an invitation to create a new reality, explore personal histories, foster contemplation, and maybe, engender transcendence.